The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-11-02

ID In September. '65. the College was
bout to reopen. The session began about
he 1st of October. The State Treasury
vas very poor at that time, but Gov Shar-
Key, few days before the opening, paid
The amount due under section L, leaving the
other unpaid. On the 18th of October be
went OUT OF OFFICE, AND WAS SUCCEEDED IN
OFFICE BIZ Gov. HUMPHREYS, who IN the next
year, 1866, paid up two whole years pay
ments of interest. making one full pay
ment in April and another in July. The
fact relied on by the Senator Is utterly |
without significance. How does he know |
that Gov. Sharkey did any more or intend |
ed any more, especially considering the I'M |
poverished condition of the Treasury, and
the near conclusion of his term of office,
than what had often been done before-to
allow little time to elapse between the
two payments? There was no imperative
need for the University to have all, or even
the major part, of its years income IN one
quarter. And yet on such trifiing grounds
the Senator claims the "illustrious" support
of Gov. Sharkey, as one of the hackers" OF
his present claim
THE LEGISLATURE OF 1880.
do not propose TO read the roster of
this body, and pronounce eulogy on Its
various members. 1t was quite the peer of
the Legislature of 1856, and very far from
being the lot of milk-sops that the tenden-
cy of the Senator's argument would make
them. know not of my own knowledge
whether twas an aesthetic" body, as the
Senator ''scornfully" terms it; but this l
know-that it elected General George to
the United States Senate, which should
be accepted by him as final proof that, it
was not body easily misled or erring.
Again: amongst the excellent tributes to
departed and living merit pronounced by
the Senator, was most just one to the Hon.
R. 0. Reynolds, lately deceased; he is styled
probably the only member of the Senate
ever the equal of Judge Elicit. Such being
the case, 1t may interest the reader to know
that the Chairman of the Senate Committee
who reported the bill in question with a
favorable recommendation, was Mr.. Rey-
nolds; that in the preliminary motions in
| cident to the passage of the bill, Mr.. Rey
nolds twice voted tayorahly to the bill,
once making himself the motion on which
| the vote was taken; and that on the final
| vote, Mr.. Reynolds was announced as pair
ed with Mr.. Carter, Mr., Reynolds being in
favor of the bill.
Nor did the Legislature act in ignorance
| of the true nature of the claim, as the arti-
L
serts. Nor was there any such suppressiO UeTl
in the memorial of the Board of Trustees
as is implied when the Senator says of it
| 1T is unparalleled, too, in the skill IN
| which it presents a claim of debt without
| indicating its amount, or the data on which
| it rested. II OMITTED ALL REFERENCE TC
| THE REPORT OF Gov. MoRAE AND MR. THoMP-
| son, AND OF THE METHODS BY BtoH THEY
ARRIVED AT THEIR CONCLUSIONS (small CAPT
tails mine) sit appears from Mr.. Howry';
letter here appended, these papers were
deemed important in establishing the debt
The Executive Committee of the Board o.
Trustees had, in 1879, the year before
printed pamphlet in which, among other
things, the message and the report, and tht
| schedule befo.e referred to were contained
1t is plainly inferable from the letter OF
Hon. G. B. Howry, that the message of Gov
McRae and report of Mr.. Thompson were
then regarded as proper bases for the cal
culation. The Trustees, however, pushed
with vigor," ETC. etc. Cover it up with Gu
phemisms as the Senator may, there is her
an unmistakable charge of suppression
of an important fact, or of fact regarded
as important; if the passage does not meal
that, it means nothing-and the inference
drawn from this charge and verbal crit
cism on the preamble of the act in ques
ton, is made the ground of CT aim tina
the act is founded on "a grave and mos
serious mistake"
Now, the simple facts are that the pamph
let of 1879 to which the Senator alludes
Out in such terms as to imply that it was
year anterior, and was withheld from tn
Legislature), was prepared for use befo r
the Legislature of 1880, and was scattere,
broadcast in that body. 1t bears the i'm
print of the year 1879, it is true but tn
year of 1879 had expired only five day:
when the Legislature convened 1t has
published in full, and covering severa
pages of closely printed matter, the entire
message of Gov. McRae and all that part o
Mr.. Thompson's memorial that bore on tn
fund. And the very memorial which tn
Senator so highly compliments by way o
crucifying it, contains in it this paragraph
GLOW then can the University be put upol
a solid financial basis. Let US see what w
igather froIL the laws in relation to the Uni
versity, HEREWITH TRANSMITTED To YOU
COMPILED IN PAMPHLET FORM" etc. Thus
the very pamphlet in question, WAS by ex
press reference and presentation, made
part of the memorial. If any member o
the Legislature, or if Gov. Stone, acted il
ignorance of the facts it was simply becaus
, he failed to read the record presented him
and for that the University is surely no
responsible.
That Legislature, in fact, made a mos
} excellent bargain for the State. Althougl
the issue is now dead and passed, except s.
far as the Senator shall succeed in revivin!
it, / append here, for the information 0
|, my readers, statements of the Seminar
Fund account, as it stood on the 9Th o
| March, 1880. Since the computation o
this account is underlaid and cont ,ollet
by certain propositions of law in referenc
to the rate of interest, I have stated it il
several aspects. FIRST, on the basis tina
the act of '43, section IL, called for co n
, pound interest, and was not totally repeal
: ed by the act of 1S4S, but was only modi
fed by it as to two certain sums of money
and while two sums bore thenceforward ST
per cent. simple interest, the residue still
| bore the original per cent. compound: tn
, result is, after crediting the State with ALI
appropriations and payments, the sum o
S., $50, 202.69 (See Exhibit AZ. SECONDLY
on the basis that the act of '43 authorized
only simple interest at per cent, and tina
the effect of the act of 1S4S, was as jus
, | above stated; this result is also set forth il
Exhibit A.; result OVER 1922, 750.SS
THIRDLY, on the basis, as intimated in tn,
Senator's letter that the acts of 1S43 anC
1S4S were based on misconception of thu
facts and therefore should not eQuitabll
control. In this case the rule of simple in
terest (six per cent as to part of the money
and s per cent. as to another part, for rea
sons set forth in the statement itself il
adopted except as to the money put into
the Planters Bank; as to which the rule oil
6 per cent. compound interest is adopted
as in common in such cases of perverted
trusts. Result, 81, 297, 402.10. Exhibit b
Now let us have no misunderstanding
This matter is closed; and if ever re-opened
it will be by the Senator, or by some foes
of the Institution land l do not mean tc
insinuate that the Senator is one). 1 al
Jude to these large amounts for no other
purpose whatever than to show that the
Legislature of 1880, was not a 'debt-creat-
ing legislature as the Senator most un.
justly denominates it; but did, in fact, make
for the State a most excellent bargain.
NIB. BRoUeHER's ACCOUNT.
| The Senator seems to be much aggrieved
because of the loss of this document. He
| gives graphic account of his anxious eff
forts to obtain possession of it. He seems
to think that if seen it would reveal san
immense power of arithmetical prestidipi
tation thus to accommodate to the very odd
| cents this enormous claim of the Universe
ty,' etc. He says, further, that ''thus it
appears that this debt-creating act of the
Legislature has for its support a report
from Committee, which has for its sup
port the statement of Col. Brougher, which
| has for its support-nothing. And then
the Senator enlarges on snakes, and turtles,
and the shadowy inane; as if in his opinion,
the accountant, and the Committee and the
| Legislature had been afflicted with a sort
of financial and legislative sim jams"
| That the statement was based on PRIs-
cIPLE and was not wild guess at POSSIBLE